Are you ready for a spooktacular outing this Halloween season? Drunk Dracula, currently on its run at the Rose Theatre at the Arizona Center through November 15, offers a comedic retelling of Bram Stoker’s timeless Transylvanian tale from the brilliant (and delightfully maudlin) minds behind Downtown Phoenix’s wildly popular Drunk Shakespeare.
The acting troupe puts on an immersive live experience with a tipsy twist. The concept is fairly straightforward: one lucky (or unlucky) actor is chosen to begin the performance by taking several shots, continuing to drink throughout the production. Can they remember their lines? Can they stay in character? Finding out the answers to these questions is all part of the fun.
Upon entry, audience members are offered a blood-red boozy shot before being guided to their seat in the cozy, 100-person theater-in-the-round. Snacks and drinks are available to order throughout the show, along with specialty cocktails like the Vampire Kiss or Slayer, both garnished with – you guessed it! – a set of plastic vampire fangs.
The evening starts off strong (pun intended) with the designated drunk actor immediately downing a few shots of whiskey. This reimagined version of Dracula is filled with suggestive and dark humor, amplified by a buzzed thespian and fellow cast members nudging that the show must go on.
Each actor brings an individualized approach, including amusing – and sometimes frightening – costume changes and even a beautiful vocal performance. Things become more uproarious as the intoxication escalates with off-kilter ad-libbing, slurring and even some staging confusion.
Audience participation is requested and encouraged throughout the show, which adds to the building levels of energy and inebriation. A “magic” word is also selected to drink to every time it’s spoken throughout the night.
Drunk Dracula provides 90 minutes of pure entertainment that anyone 21 and over can sink their teeth into. Spectators can even attend several performances, given this fang-tastic show is different every night, giving attendees a unique and unpredictable experience.
Running multiple shows nightly October 30-November 2 and Fridays and Saturdays only through November 15, tickets to the 21-plus experience are available at drunkdracula.com. Rideshares highly encouraged.
